Letters To The Editor

May 16, 2004

Freedom will win in this challenge

The next election will be the most important that we will take part in. During previous wars, we had two expansive oceans that offered us protection. Today we no longer can depend on space for our safety. With the advance in travel and practically instantaneous movement, any enemy has the wherewithal to strike us anywhere and anytime of his choosing.

Unfortunately, whether one agrees or not, the bitter truth is freedom will be and is challenged over the complete globe. Freedom will win, after enormous bloodshed, sacrifice and sheer grit. A famous general once said, "There is no substitute for victory." How loud and true this rings today.

Our vote will be instrumental in the ongoing war. We must keep a steady hand on the ship of state, and remember God's rain falls on all of us.

Thomas P. Chandler

Yorktown *

Bad intentions

James P. Pinkerton (April 8, "Rice may have some explaining to do," and April 15, "The truth will win out, whether Bush likes it or not") and others evince a common societal attitude as they would blame George W. Bush or "somebody" for misfortune. Given the reality of human nature, it takes a large measure of hypocrisy to maintain that attitude of "holding others responsible for what you couldn't do yourself."

I would like Pinkerton and his allies to consider the logical inconsistency of the assertion that Bush should have pre-emptively prevented the World Trade Center attack at the same time they assert that he should not have invaded Iraq without a smoking gun.

To have good intentions is humanly possible and the best we can hope for. That is the essence of our constitutional law as we presume innocence until proven guilty. Administrative law as a tool of unrealistic human control increasingly undermines that standard. Who would think that Bush or Condoleezza Rice had anything but the best motives? To judge human failure ex-post facto is strictly "old law." Nothing more clearly shows "bad intentions." I believe those bad intentions are what we should and will ultimately be held liable for.

Martin A. Thiel

Newport News

No corner on religion

I am a patriotic, church-going Christian and a Democrat. I am not certain how conservative Republicans decided that they cornered the market on religion and love of country, because my view of reality is quite different.

A patriot, in the historic sense, was one who questioned the ruling authority, even when it was unpopular or dangerous. Those who cherish American values need to be vigilant and not blindly follow. My understanding of Christian values also runs parallel to a more liberal agenda. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, blessed the meek, the poor, the merciful and the peacemakers. This is quite the contrary of our present administration.

Conservative claims on patriotism and religion don't necessarily make it so. As an electorate, we must become more intelligently informed seekers of the truth.

Judy Vogan Boone

Williamsburg

Pumped-up problem

Reference the April 23 op-ed column "Strength isn't from a bottle" by U.S. Sen. George Allen.

Allen is to be lauded for his attempt to remove dangerous substances from the public square. However, the blame for this situation lies squarely with Congress.

Despite much medical evidence, Congress did not get around to restricting the usage of anabolic steroids until 1990. In 1994, they passed the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, which relaxed the approval process for over-the-counter products such as andro. The result was that the government had to prove that a product was harmful (usually by citing injury rates to those precious children all politicians love to talk about during an election year) in order to remove it from the market, as opposed to the manufacturer demonstrating its safety before it showed up at your local vitamin store.

Players' Association Executive Director Don Fehr testified before Congress in 2002 and asked that Congress pass legislation to address the issue of steroid precursors. He believed that if a product was to be banned for use by athletes, it should be banned for all. It is two years later, and we have seen no action yet.

Robert Tufts

Forest Hills, N.Y.

Low blow for troops

This is in response to "Military lures recruits with hip-hop" by Ed Morales on April 15.

Morales shows some nerve by attempting to undermine the honor of America's fallen heroes. These men and woman, and their families, have given the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Morales' attempt to make this a racial issue is appalling. To group the fallen heroes with those who died from "accidents, suicide and illness" to raise the numbers is ludicrous.